Head Coach Sam Morreale and the NIU Gymnastics program have raised the bar with a perfect APR score.

May 7, 2014

DeKALB, Ill. - With a perfect multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1,000, the Northern Illinois University women's gymnastics team on Wednesday was honored with a Public Recognition Award from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The award goes to teams whose multiyear APR ranks in the Top 10 percent of all NCAA programs in their respective sports.

Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). These awards highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving multiyear APRs ranked in the top 10 percent of all squads within their respective sports.

"Great job by head coach Sam Morreale and our women's gymnastics program, who earned the Public Recognition Award with a perfect APR over the last four years," said NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier. "This is a team that is getting it done the right way in the classroom, in competition and with the way they represent NIU every day."

The NIU women's gymnastics program received a Public Recognition Award for the second time in school history, and for the first time since 2009. They are one of two Mid-American Conference women's gymnastics teams, and one of just 15 gymnastics teams in the country, to receive the recognition this year. Across all sports, 25 different MAC teams were honored.

Women's gymnastics is one of seven different NIU programs to earn the honor since it was implemented in 2004-05, and Huskie teams have been honored a total of 11 times. At least one NIU team has ranked in the Top 10 percent for multiyear APR in its sport in eight of the last nine years.

The APR tracks the progress of each student-athlete on scholarship on every Division I team based on eligibility, graduation and retention, providing a real-time look at each team's academic success each semester. The 2012-13 APR report is based on data from the most 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

The NCAA will release the full report of multiyear APRs for all Division I sports teams on May 14.

Having achieved a perfect multiyear APR in the 2012-13 report, the NIU gymnastics team is already working toward next year's numbers as five Huskie gymnasts will earn their undergraduate degrees from NIU in commencement ceremonies this weekend.